Underline Journeys: School Music Competition

Open to children age 5-18, attending school*
Entry deadline: 18 March 2016 – Competition now closed

A music competition open to all schools based in the Greater London area*, to create and produce an audio track inspired by the sounds of the Victoria line.

The overall winning composition wins a special masterclass with contemporary composer Matt Rogers, one of the five Underline commissioned artists. A runners-up prize will e awarded for each of the age categories (see T&Cs).

The challenge: compose a piece of music that reflects a journey travelling along the Victoria line.

Begin by watching the short video of Matt Rogers talking about his work and what the Victoria line means to him.

What you need to do
1. Look at the Tube map and choose the stations and local areas that you would like to pass through (we suggest you choose two, but you might like to choose more). Think about which stations and areas may produce the most interesting sounds (e.g. Brixton market).

2. Brainstorm the ideas that you would like to reflect in the music, e.g. the sounds of people, announcements, rhythmic track sounds, brakes, slowing and speeding of the tempo, the increase and decrease in dynamics, the different layers (texture), the different timbres (e.g. metallic, footsteps,
electric sounds).

3. Play around with motifs and rhythms and begin to put together the different sections of your music. Use percussion, vocals and tuned instruments in any way that you would like.

4. Incorporate one or more extracts from Matt Roger’s Sample Set. Think about how this can be done most effectively. You can use music technology to manipulate the sounds, e.g. reverse them, speed them up, stretch them or chop them into smaller parts.

5. Record some of your own samples, such as the school cafeteria, corridors or traffic outside the school.

6. Your samples along with Matt’s samples will become the soundscape for which you produce your finished piece of music.(Maximum duration two-minutes per track)